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UNITED DAVID E. sTEDMAN, OE ELIZABETH,NEW JEEsEY, AssIeNoE E ONE-HALE rro GEOEGEH.. HOE'NING, OE vSAME PLACE.

;PERMuTAT|oN-'Looki SPECIFICATION forming part .of Letters Patent No. 293,8I0, dated February 19, 1884.

Application mea ,111115.19, Issa (Model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID R. STEDMAN, a

citizen of the United-States, and a residentof Elizabeth, in thecounty of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newv and useful Improvements in Permutation-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

The main object Vof my invention is to produce a permutation-lock which shall be composed of a reduced number of parts,l and be compact, simple, and cheap in its construction, and therefore especially adapted to certain articles and structures to which the application of this class of locks has heretofore been im- I 5 practicable or objectionable, owing to the com paratively large amount of space occupied byY the locks and expense involved in their construction. I

The improvements claimed herein lie chiefly in the mechanism for operating or throwing the bolt of the lock; and their principal features consist, first, in the combination, with the bolt-operating lever or levers and a cam for actuating the same, and arranged to operate independently of the tumbler mechanism, of a yielding connection between said lever or levers and the cam; and, second, in the sar'A rangement of the cam' with relation to its handle andthe connection of Said handle with the cam-spindle. n

The said improvements further consist, 1n the combination of certain details of construction, which, together withy the principal fea- I tures, willbe specifically described and claimed 3 5 hereinafter.

In the accompanyingdrawlngs, Figure l 1s a rear elevation of a lock embodying my improvements; and Fig. 2 is averticaltransverse 'section taken on the line w x of Fig. 1,v showing the lock appliedto the hasp of a trunk Referring to the drawings,y d d' dz'represent the -tumblersvof the lock, and they arepro vieed with notches extending from their peripheries lradially inward, .as shown.v .These tumblers are each preferably formed integral, or of one piece or plate of metal, and are pro-v vided with the usual colliding-pins, as shown'. Y TheseI pinsA may preferablyy be permanently fixed to the tumblers at suitable points bybe- 5o ing screwed inthe same or riveted thereto.

The tumblers are mounted loosely upon the stud c, so that they may rotate freely thereon, and they are separated and held at proper distances apart by stationary washers, as usual.

I prefer to provide the tumbler d with a toothed 5 5,

periphery, which engages withV the correspondingly-toothed periphery of a driving-wheel, f. The dial E, provided with the usual numbers or other characters, is united to the drivingwheel f, and therefore the motion imparted to 6o the dial 'by the hand will be conveyed to the tumblers by the driving-wheel f through its geared connection with them, as will be readily understood. The general manner in which the notches in the tumblers are brought abreast or opposite to each other to allow the bolt to be retracted, as well asthe arrangement of the tumblers themselves, is well known, andtherefore a detailed description of the same will be unnecessary. I Vprefer to set or change the 7o combination of dial-characters which are used to govern the movement of the dialin manipulating the tumblers by means of an adjustable connection between the `spindle F and the driving-wheel f, as will now be described. The spindle Fisat one end secured rigidly-to the dial, and at fits otherextremity is formed into' a cylindrical stem of smaller diameter than the main portion of the spindle, as shown inrFig. 2. This stem extends through a circu- 8o laraperture in the center of the wheel f, and

is screw-threaded and fitted with a nut, n, as shown. yBy'means of this nut the wheel f may be tightly clamped against-the shoulder y,

e ofthe spindle F, as will be ,readily underv stood. When, therefore, it is desired to" set or change the combination of dial-characters, the dial is first turned to the left until `all of the pins upon the tumblers collidewith one v another. The dialis arrested when the notch 9o in-tumbler d2 gets in line with the bolt; and the tumblers then being allowed to remain at rest, the dial-spindle-Fv is detached from its rigid-connection with the driving-,wheel f by loosening the nut a. The dial and its spindle 9 5- being now free to turn'independentlyhey are revolved alone until the character which Ahas been selected as the initial character of `the combinationA appears opposite the index,when the movement of the dialisagainarrested,the Ioo nutr screwed down, and the driving-wheelf again rigidlyr secured to the spindle F: l The the diameter of the bolt.

dial and driving-wheel are now turned to the right until the pins between tumblers d and d collide, and the notch in tumbler 1/ appears in line with the bolt, when the dial is arrested, and the character then appearing opposite the index is noted as the second character of the new combination. The motion of the dial is now reversed to the left, and is arrested when the notch in the geared tumbler d is in alignment with the bolt, when the character 011 the dial opposite the index is noted as the final character of the combination. The notches in the tumblers will now all be in line with the bolt, and in proper position to allow the latter to be retracted. The tumblers may thereafter be similarly arranged under the new combination by manipulating the dial in the usual manner, as will be readily understood. It will therefore be seen that all of the numbers or characters of the combination succeeding the first or initialcharacter are determined bythe positions ofthe tu mblers, instead of being predetermined, and the posit-ions of the parts of thelock made to conform to the entire prearranged formula; but the initial character of combinations set according to the construction described may, however, be predetermined, as will be readily understood.

By means of the arrangement for and method of setting or changing the combination of (lial7cl1aiacte1's which I prefer to employ, and which hasjust been described, a very simple construction of tumblers may be made use of, as it is unnecessary that any portion of the latter should be movable or that movablepins be employed. This arrangement therefore conduces materially to thc general simplicity ofthe lock. The stud c, upon which the-tumblers are mounted, is rigidlay attached to the plate B, preferablyv by being screwed therein, as shown in Fig. 2. This plate is riveted to the side ofthe larger face-plate, A, and through both of these vplates the dial-spindle F extends, as shown. Two elongated lugs 01 projections, i 1', are formed uponthe sid of the plate B. Vithin holes formed laterally through these projeetions'a bolt, 71, (shown partly in full and partly in dotted lines in Fig. l and in dotted cross-section in Fig. 2,) is arranged to horizontally slide. This bolt is preferably of oblong cylindrical form, and is mounted so as to directly enter the slots in the tumblers when they are all abreast of each other and in line with the bolt, as will be readily understood upon reference to Fig. l, the notches being of equal or preferably slightly greater width than As will be seen, however, the bolt will be prevented from rctracting and be locked when one or more of the tumblers are turned away from the boltas, for instance, in Fig. l.

The bolt operating or throwing mechanism, which forms the principal portion of the subject-matter hereinafter claimed, will now be described. Two links or levers, ZL, are re spectively pivoted to the ri ghthand extremity m of the bolt lz. and to the plate B at p, and

they are pivoted together at their opposite extremities, m, to form an elbow or toggle joint,

as shown, and are so arranged that the line of 7o longitudinal'motion ofthe link Z will be nearly coincident with the line ot' motion of the bolt h, as will beapparent upon reference to Fig. l. A flat spring, 0, is rigidly attached at one end to the side of the lever L near its junction with the lever l, the other end of the spring being free and projecting away from said lever, as shown, and into the path of a rotating cam, lll, which is mounted upon a spindle rotating in and extending through the plates A and B, and therefore the cam operates independently of the dial-spindle or tumbler mechanism.' It will therefore be seen that when the tumblers are arranged by the dial with their notches abreast of each other and in line with the bolt h the latter may be retracted into the notches by turning the cam in the direction of the arrow, when the spring o will force the levers L and l, and consequently the bolt l1., to the right, the bolt being caused to enter the notches in the tumblers, as will be readily understood. The turning of the cam should be continued until its extremity is forced past the end ol" the spring o, when the cam may be allowed to rest (by virtue of the gravity of its operating pendent ring K, hereinafter described) against the opposite side ofthe spring o. The bolt may then be thrown back to its locked position by turning the ealn in the opposite direction,when the latter will engage with the opposite side of the spring and force the sameto the right, as will be understood. The spring o should, however, be sufficiently stiff to prevent the cam, when moving in the direction of the arrow, from slipping past its extremity when the notches in the tumblcrs are in line with thebolt until the bolt has been fully retracted.

It will be seen that by means of the yielding connection between the levers L and Zand the cam M (which connection is formed by the spring o) the cam may be very easily placed in position for throwing the bolt back to its locked position after the same has been retracted by the cam, and also that, should the cam be accidentally or inadvertently turned while the bolt is locked with considerable force in the direction of the arrow, undue or harmful pressure upon the peripheries of the tumblers by the end of the bolt in its effort to retract will be prevented by the yielding connection between the cam and the bolt-operating levers, since the spring o bends sufficiently in the direction of the rotation of the cam (the levers L and Z remaining rigid,) to allow the cam to pass its extremity, and compensates the force upon the bolt. Consequently but little force from the cam is communicated to the bolt under such conditions. This connection, therefore, constitutes an important feature of my invention.

lVhile I have shown two levers or links for throwing the bolt h, it is obvious that one mayy be dispensed with (preferably the lever I) and IOO IIO

the vlever'L alone Vbe lused in connection with all usages to which trunks are ordinarily subthe spring o and cam M and be directly-.united with the bolt, as will be readilyunderstood; but I greatly prefer to Aemploy the togglejointed form of levers which I have described, since by their use a very easy-motionis Vgiven to the bolt by reason of the great amount of leverage obtained, and this motion -is made very certain, owing to the motion of the lever Z being nearly coincident with the bolt.

In the drawings I have shown the bolting mechanism as appliedto the body and hasp of a trunk, and this application is more fully illustrated in Fig. 2. j

The plate B, upon which the parts of the lock are mounted, is adapted to be set into an aperture in the side of thetrunk, as shown in Fig. 2, and it may be secured to the-trunk by screws passing through the face-plate A into the body of the trunk.

The hasp 'b' may be hinged to the lid of the trunk, as usual, and is provided with a lateral yoke, b. This yoke is adapted to be inserted through the aperture a in the plates A and B, and may be locked to the plates by the bolt Zt, as 'shown in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The yoke will be unlocked and be free to be withdrawn, and the trunk may be opened when the bolt is retractedinto the slots in the tumblers, as will be readily understood.

The mechanism may be protected and inclosed by a suit-able cover, one serving this purpose being illustrated in Fig. 2. This cover should preferably be relnovably attached to the lock, so that access may be had to the mechanism of the latter. v

I prefer to construct vthe dial A of a flat form, as shown in Fig. 2, andit'may, as also the outwardly-projecting portion of the spindle, to which the cam M is attached, be provided witha ring-handle, K. These rings may be loosely mounted upon the outer portions of the dial and cam-spindles, as shown,

and they will therefore normally hang by gravity parallel with the sideof the trunk. The portion of the ring-handle K of the cam which depends below the axis of the spindle to which said -handle is attachedshould preferably be of suflicient weight to overbalance the cam, so as to normally maintain the latter in Contact with the spring 'o by its own weight, as shown in Fig. 1. The whole outer arrangement ofthe lock is thus compact, strong, and simple, and well adapted to withstand jected.

It may be observed that while my invention `is .particularly adapted to and designed for trunks and similar articles, as above described, it may also be applied by obvious modifications to other articles, and to the doors of safes or other structures. l

I claim herein as my invention- 1. In a permutation-lock, a bolt having its actuating or throwing lever or levers operatively united with a cam operating independently of the dial orV tumbler mechanism, in combination with a yielding connection be'- tween said lever or levers and cam, whereby the force of the cam is compensated, substantially as herein set forth.

- 2. In a permutation-lock, the combination of a series of notched tumblers, a bolt, one or more levers for moving or throwing said bolt, the cam M, and the yspring o, united to said lever or levers at one extremity, and-having a free end .projecting in the path-of said cam, Y

substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3.A In a permutation-lock, the combination, with the lever mechanism for throwing the bolt, of a cam, for operating said mechanism, and a pendent handle attached to the spindle of the cam, and so arranged that a sufficient amount of its weight to overbalance the cam will normally hang below the axis of said spindle, substantially as herein set forth, whereby the cam may be normally maintained inengagement with said lever mechanism, substantially asherein shown and described.

i 4. Ina permutation-lock, the combination, with the plate B, having projections 'Z i, of the series lof notched tumblers, the bolt h, mounted in or upon said projections, the lever Z, pivoted tosaid bolt at one extremity, the lever L, pivoted to said plate at one end and pivoted to the lever Z at its other extremity to form a toggle-joint, the 'cam M, and the spring o,

united at one end to the lever L, and having tsiree end. projecting in the path of said cam,

substantially as herein set forth. f

In testimony whereof` I have hereunto set 4my hand'this 16th day of June, A. D. .1883.

DAVID R. srEDMAN.

Witnesses l GEORGE B. HOOKER, MILLER C. EARL.

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